Uzumushi
Uzumushi (渦虫 Uzumushi) was one of the two leaders of the Kenobi Ninja along with Hebitonbo, and is currently the clan's only leader. He is a plot-mandated boss and sometimes accompanies his clan in missions. History Backstory He was presumably born in a foreign province named Oshu, located in the interior part of Japan. It's unknown when exactly did he join the Kenobi, met Hebitonbo or became one of the clan's co-leaders. The Kenobi served Lord Uzuki of Tasogare for many years, but their clumsiness, agressiveness and "accidental" murder of citizens quickly made them lose his favor. Uzuki claims that Uzumushi has been a constant failure as a ninja, with the only redeeming factor in his job being his brute strength. Way of the Ninja The Kenobi, along with the Mosu and Taraba clans, came to Utakata once the war broke to work as hired mercenaries. Initially this was their only motivation as their leaders had no personal missions or vendettas to settle. Since the moment they arrived they started making trouble not only for Goh but also for the citizens of Utakata due to the clan's aggressive, boastful and foolish nature. During one of their operations, they were ordered to steal the contents of an oxcart. Unbeknown to them, Kinu had sabotaged their efforts and was waiting inside the oxcart. But Hebitonbo quicky decided to kidnap her in retaliation and sent Goh a letter demanding ransom for Kinu's return. When Goh arrives to the instructed point, the watermill in Ryonin Market, he finds Uzumushi and Hebitonbo torturing Kinu with the watermill. The leaders order Goh to leave his money and belongings in a nearby boat and stay at distance, but he stands in the boat himself, challenging them. The ninja battle, with Goh emerging victorious against both. He demands the Kenobi leaders to release Kinu, and they do so. Hebitonbo goes to the watermill and tells his friend to escape meanwhile but after struggling to reach Kinu, tries to pull the watermill with his full body weight, turning it but trapping himself underneath and drowning to death while his friend watches helplessly. Distraught, Uzumushi blames both Asuka for Hebitonbo's death and swears to take revenge before leaving. Uzumushi builds a makeshift grave for his friend somewhere in the forests of Utakata. Being dull minded as he is, Uzumushi doesn't notice when he accidentally destroys it with his mace as he turned around to leave. Uzumushi would meet the Asuka once again in Utakata Castle. He awaited in the rooftops for Kinu to arrive so he would kill her with his mace from above. Confusion arises when Kinu does appear, but so do a disguised Ageha, Usuba and Goh, now turned into a bear. While Kinu and Ageha try to convince Goh which one of them is the real Kinu, Uzumushi becomes confused and slams one of them with his mace. He hits Ageha, killing her instantly, and earning the ire of Usuba. After a brief combat he leaves the castle chased by Usuba. Uzumushi fate is decided by the player. While he can be killed, Uzumushi's survival is considered canonical. If he lives, eventually he decides to leave Utakata, sending Goh a letter claiming that he has grown weary and somewhat afraid of Goh and that he will leave with his clan for Oshu, but he still considers both him and Kinu his enemies. Tales of the Ninja When Ichijo asked for Princess Azami's hand in marriage, with the intention of gaining the allegiance of Tasogare, Lord Uzuki accepted on the condition that he gets rid of the Kenobi and their leader currently stationed in his land, as Uzuki sees it they represent too much of a danger to his citizens to be useful anymore. Ichijo sends the Asuka for they job and gains the allegiance of Tasogare after their success. He appears once again some missions later. Hebitonbo's twin brother, also named Hebitonbo due to his resemblance, convinces a doubtful Uzumushi to attack a farmer village in the outskirts of Utakata, under the rationale that it secretly is an Asuka settlement. The three Asuka investigate the village and Goh finds both leaders still wandering inside. They battle, and Hebitonbo II is killed by Goh. Uzumushi leaves after this, and tentatively claims he will kill Goh someday. Revenge of Zen He and his clan come back to Utakata after reaching Chapter 2. He is always seen with a shiba dog named after his deceased friend. Uzumushi becomes interested in collecting the Tenma Mirrors for monetary purposes. When Zen confronts Usuba in Rokudo Valley, he waits until they are distracted in their battle before stealing the mirror from Usuba and escaping with it. Zen chases him into Sengen Town and fights him for the mirror, which Uzumushi gives him after is defeat. Some time after that they manage to kidnap Princess Sakuya from Kazama with the intent of returning her to Sekishu for a reward. Depending on the player's actions they might be stopped by Zen or they might succeed, leaving Sakuya's fate ambiguous. Later in the game either them or the Mosu may get hold of Zaji, who pretty much allowed himself to be captured to test Zen. Depending on the player's actions, either Zen or Kaede will rescue him in Dandara Pass. Abilities As Lord Uzuki testifies, Uzumushi fails in any talents pertaining to ninjutsu despite his clan's capacity. He is slow, heavy, clumsy, loud and not stealthy at all. He also has a tendency to break things and injure or kill people in his clumsiness. He compensates these failures with his sheer physical power, which allow him to wield a heavy flail and mace as his weapon of choice with little difficulty. This lets him cause heavy damage from just one swing of the mace and attack many enemies at once. As a boss, he is also very resilent to damage. By the events of Revenge of Zen he seems to have learned of the importance of ninja tools. He now uses items during combat and in some cutscenes uses a smoke bomb to escape when he is cornered by Zen. Personality For a ninja master, Uzumushi acts like a dumb brute. He is very simple-minded, seen in the Kenobi's intro when he doesn't think twice to directly asking civilians if they are his client and both his voice (and speech patterns, in the Japanese dialogue) and his writing. He isn't particularly aggressive, and seemed to only go along with it because of his friend's violent temperament, but his exceptional clumsiness makes him hurt and destroy without meaning to. For all of his flaws, he is shown to be loyal and caring to his friends, exemplified by his friendship with Hebitonbo. He is deeply distraugh by his death, and even after giving up his revenge he still regards Hebitonbo's memory with sorrow. In a somewhat insulting but well-intentioned gesture of tribute to his friend's memory he adopts a shiba dog, who follows Uzumushi everywhere, and names it after him. Suprisingly, Uzumushi is shown to have some moments of patience and cleverness when he decided to ambush Kinu in Utakata Castle. Unfortunately for him, unforeseen cincunstances quickly derailed his plans. This ocurrence repeats in Revenge of Zen, when he waits out while Usuba and Zen are distracted in their battle to steal the Mara Mirror and escape. Trivia * His name comes from the japanese name of a subspecies of flatworms or a genus or worm-like species. It shares a theme naming with Hebitonbo (Snake) as both are terrestrial and subterrestrial animals commonly perceived as disgusting by people. * The gauntlet he wears in Revenge of Zen is actually Hebitonbo's snake claw. He doesn't seem to know how to use it however, as he is wearing ir backwards... * He has a tendency both in gameplay and cutscenes to accidentally slam people and things with the end of his flail/mace. Gallery Uzumushi.png|Uzumushi in Shinobido: Way of the Ninja Hebitonbo, Uzumushi and the Kenobi.jpg|Uzumushi with Hebitonbo and the Kenobi ninja Category:Characters Category:Enemies Category:Ninja Category:Bosses